Oregon head football coach is staying in the Pacific Northwest.AP Photo/Don Ryan, File

So, then, if it wasn't made clear beforehand, Bill O'Brien wants to make it crystalline that he's not about money. On the other hand, if they come to him in six months and tell him he's gotten a raise, he's not turning it down.

Which pretty much makes him just like the rest of us. All except for the fact that no one is approaching many of the rest of us in six months other than to demand our expense forms are in on time.

In the age of NCAA sanctions, speaking about big donors in public is clearly something with which Penn State is uncomfortable. O'Brien on two occasions in this morning's press conference emphasized that no one has ever come to him with any plan to sweeten his pot. Of course, if that happens in July, he's not going to argue, either, he acknowledged. Whatever.

Contrast this with the open and even flamboyant manner in which Phil Knight waves cash at Oregon and manages to keep around a man in demand like Chip Kelly and you see the difference between the two.

I think it's sort of funny, actually. I mean, no matter what the money means to individual coaches -- and as I wrote yesterday, I in no way believe O'Brien is driven by it -- there is so much money in today's college football business that where it flows inevitably divides the players and pretenders.

Penn State and Oregon are both players. They essentially possess the same assets but choose to dress differently in public.

Penn State has suffered a recent public disgrace. Its established persona even before the Sandusky mess was austere and secretive. It has always preferred to dress down. It wants to keep its major donors -- guys like Ira Lubert and Terry Pegula -- behind the curtains. But they are there. They wield major power. They can sweeten whatever pots they like. And no one is turning them down.

Oregon could not care less about acknowledging who and what it is and how money plays into its standing. It relishes the college football spotlight like a starlet at a red carpet premiere.

Though I'm not a big fan of Knight, as I've made clear, I prefer his method in this case simply because of its honesty: Yeah, I have billions. I'm throwing it around my program. Look, I can bust out new uniforms for every game. And, see, I just staved off a bunch of NFL teams who wanted my coach.